| Tugfax states that "The tug Orion Expeditor, was towing a smaller tug, named Gordon Gill which broke its tow line and went missing off Alaska October 26, 1986. The tug Gordon Gill eventually was found March 26, 1987 about 125 miles from where it broke tow off Dutch Harbor AK USA. Declared a constructive total loss, it was salvaged and rebuilt for Atlantic Towing and ended up on the east coast after all. Renamed Atlantic Alder in 1997 it was sold in 2001 to the Hudson Bay Port Company of Churchill, MB where it was renamed Mantaywi-Sepe. It was built in 1982 in Hay River NT and is a twin screw tug of 1600 bhp. This vessel was later based at the Port of Churchill, MB." Daniel Riley (British Columbia Nautical History Facebook Group 11/02/2018) states that "I worked on that very tug in 1985, It was being towed by the m/v Orion when it broke loose on its towline . We were a day behind on the m/v Fort Good Hope and told to go on a salvage expedition. A flight the next day did not locate the Gordon Gill and we were rerouted to Vancouver. The Gordon Gill was located months later, in a bay off the Aleutians , anchored by the existing towline." Neil Gower (Email to Nauticapedia 18/06/2024) states "She was built in sections in Vancouver by Brisdale Marine and shipped by truck to Hay River where it was welded together. The insurer paid out the loss and took over the ship when it was recovered 4 months after the loss, and then sold it." Neil Gower (Email to Nauticapedia 23/07/2024) stated "Northern Arc Shipbuilders Ltd. was established by Gordon and Treena Gill in Hay River, NWT, in 1969. Its business was mostly repair initially but as the northern oil and gas exploration boomed, they took on more work - for government, private companies, public exploration companies, and themselves. After the National Energy Program and the termination of the Panarctic subsidies, NAS evolved into a crane services company, Northern Crane Services Ltd. headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, which in the early 2000s was sold and later renamed NC Services Group and then NCSG Crane and Heavy Haul Ltd. (Inc.?)" |
